Your Guide to Shopping Online …

Yearly Archives: 2014

A new study finds that that e-cigarettes contain more cancer-causing agents than traditional cigarettes. One brand tested contained as much as 10 times more.

The carcinogens include chemicals such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, found in several forms of e-cigarette liquid.

The study, commissioned by Japan’s Health Ministry, is the latest blow to the fast-growing industry that markets itself as a safer alternative to satisfying nicotine cravings, by using vaporized liquids instead of smoke.

Still, e-cigarettes are relatively new and the research conducted thus far is minimal and often contradictory, with other studies showing positive effects.

Thomas J. Glynn, former director of cancer science and trends at the American Cancer Society, spoke with Here & Now’s Robin Young about where the latest study stands in the debate over e-cigarettes.

A British company has begun a legal challenge to planned EU controls over e-cigarette production, sales and marketing.

Totally Wicked, which employs 150 people in Blackburn, Lancashire, says rules due to come into force in May 2016 are disproportionate and deprive consumers of an alternative source of “recreational” nicotine. The company, which also operates in the US and Germany, argues that limits on the use of nicotine that can be used in e-cigarettes will also mean they can only offer a “muted choice” to users of more dangerous and toxic tobacco.

Although a hearing is unlikely to take place before autumn next year, Totally Wicked has said it will be the first company to fight the directive in the European court of justice in Luxembourg. The challenge will be closely monitored by other companies in the industry.

The firm claims the “burdens” of the rules could destroy or seriously damage legitimate manufacturers and retailers, and warns of a hidden or parallel trade in products made either illegally within the EU or outside.

A four-minute hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Monday cleared the way for the action. The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, made no objection to the case going ahead, although his department has insisted the new rules are lawful.

The EU legislation, if enacted, would torpedo sports sponsorship by e-cigarette makers who have become a valuable source of finance for football, rugby and motor-sport, among other events.

An estimated 2.1 million Britons use e-cigarettes, whose benefits are disputed by health campaigners. While some want further controls, such as over their use in public places, others believe they may prove a healthier alternative than tobacco.

Action on Smoking and Health, for instance, says a third of vapers – so called because they exhale vapour, not smoke – are ex-smokers, while two-thirds use tobacco and e-cigarettes. The use of e-cigarettes among those who never smoked is said to be negligible.

Some manufacturers, including e-cigarette makers that are part of big tobacco conglomerates, have applied for their products to be given medicinal licences as nicotine replacement therapies similar to gums, sprays and patches.

Fraser Cropper, managing director of Totally Wicked, told the Guardian: “We just want a competitive, level playing field that allows us to sell our products.”

Rejecting any prospect of applying for a medicinal licence, an expensive process, he said: “We are not a nicotine replacement therapy. We do not have to provide a pharmaceutical response to those who want to give up smoking. We are trying to provide an alternative to those who want recreational nicotine.”

The South Korean government has warned of heavy fines for those who hoard cigarettes following its decision to hike tobacco prices. Seoul on Thursday (Sep 11) proposed a steep 80 per cent hike in cigarette prices to cut consumption in a nation with one of the world’s highest male smoking rates and some of the cheapest cigarettes in the world.

From early this week, sales of cigarettes have been on the rise as smokers waited for the government to announce plans for the hike in cigarette prices. Once the plan was announced, many started to stock up.

“We have sold about three to four more times (the number of cigarettes) than on average days. I guess psychologically when they heard it could rise, they thought it could rise from tomorrow. Maybe that’s why they are buying in cartons. Some said they will buy this for the last time and quit before the rise,” said convenience store owner Yang Byung-il.

Currently a packet of cigarettes costs about 2,500 won (US$2.40), but after the rise, it will cost 4,500 won (US$4.30). This would be the first price increase in 10 years, and the heftiest ever.

The proposal first needs to be approved by parliament, and if it passes, it goes into effect in January next year. But an approval is not guaranteed – the main opposition party said it would only empty the pockets of those in the low-income bracket.

The government predicts the increase would help cut cigarette consumption by 34 per cent, and analysts in favour of the rise say this will help tackle smoking among teenagers. “What is very important here is that it can help prevent smoking among youth in the early stages. Many studies show that if the price of cigarettes increase, then smokers in the low income bracket, who have one of the highest smoke rate, can see a drop,” said Choi Eun-jin, an analyst at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.

Just under half of adult males in South Korea smoke, compared to an average of 25.4 per cent in the 34 countries that are members of the OECD – thus the price hike was proposed to counter what has become the biggest threat to national health.

Those who hoard cigarettes from now on can be fined up to 50 million won (US$48,000). Apart from the price hike, the government has suggested banning cigarette advertisements in convenience stores and making graphic warning labels on the cigarette packs mandatory.

The Food and Drug Administration’s weak rules on electronic cigarettes came under a new round of criticism last week when 29 state attorneys general wrote the agency to say its current proposal to regulate them “fails to address matters of particular concern.”

The 29 officials, including Massachusetts’ Martha Coakley, are right on target. In April, the FDA had said it wanted to ban sales of e-cigarettes to minors. Yet it proposed to give manufacturers complete freedom to market a product that could addict a new generation of users to nicotine, expose users to many potentially dangerous chemicals, and still be a gateway back to tobacco.

The FDA would still allow manufacturers to sell electronic cigarettes with the very candy, cake, spice, and fruit flavors that were banned in 2009 for tobacco because they were luring youth into smoking. In another head scratcher, the FDA would also allow e-cigarette companies to advertise in media banned for tobacco, such as television and magazines. According to a study published last month in the journal Pediatrics, youth exposure to e-cigarette television advertising increased 256 percent from 2011 to 2013.

That figure was cited by the attorneys general in their letter, in which they urged the FDA to ban candy flavors, place the same marketing restrictions on e-cigs as for cigarettes, and strengthen health warnings. Noting studies that link adolescent nicotine use to adult memory loss, impulse control, and depression, the attorneys general suggest labeling that makes it crystal clear that nicotine “is a harmful and addictive chemical.”

The harm has become obvious as child poisonings from playing with or accidentally swallowing liquid e-cigarette flavorings have skyrocketed. They have reached such a level that a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in April said, “developing strategies to monitor and prevent future poisonings is critical.”

The saga of e-cigarette regulation took a particularly mysterious turn this summer when Reuters reported that a key reason for the tameness of the FDA’s rules was because the Obama administration’s Office of Management and Budget significantly weakened the FDA drafts. OMB deleted language voicing concern for the safety of e-cigarettes, a proposal to review cartridges for harmful levels of toxic chemicals, and language that could have led to a ban on online sales. In a parallel revision, OMB also weakened proposed new rules for cigars and deleted FDA estimates of how many lives and how much money would be saved with reductions in cigar smoking.

OMB has not said why it weakened the rules, but the unspoken reason probably is that tobacco companies remain big players on Capitol Hill. The industry has spent $132 million in lobbying since 2009, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

That lobbying clearly has muted the cry for tough, proactive regulation. To be sure, e-cigarettes do not contain the carcinogens of burnt tobacco. E-cigarettes, with proper medical supervision, may help people stop smoking. But the fact that companies are using celebrities to market them as a way of being cool strongly suggests that the overriding goal of the industry is to get millions of people around the world hooked.

In the five years since, the barrage of advertising and the exploding use of e-cigarettes among young people make it imperative for Obama and the FDA to listen to the pleas of the top medical societies, public health associations, and, now, the majority of state attorneys general. Without strong action by the administration, e-cigarettes will become a temptation young people cannot resist.

Offering a bit of change for a cigarette goes a long way in the realm of cigarette-iquette. Something as small as fifty cents at least shows that you’re willing to make an exchange, and recognize that smokes don’t come cheap. Whoever you’re asking will probably just give you one anyway, which leads to…

2. When asked for a smoke

As mentioned above, many people will/should offer a bit of change (or something in exchange) when asking for a cigarette, and if you want to be a well mannered smoker, you should politely decline. A dollar isn’t going to make or break you, and accepting makes you look a little cheap. Best to save face and just seem totally gracious and give out the smoke at zero charge.

3. Saving a cig

When someone offers you a smoke, don’t say yes, the proceed to put it away and save it for later. Even if you’re just planning on using it for batch in a joint, you look like a punk. The person most likely gave you a smoke so you could have one with them, not so you could be opportunistic and have a smoke when you like. Go buy your own then.

4. Know the smoking sitch

Everyone knows you can’t smoke indoors at bars and public places, but someone’s home/a house party is another story. Before lighting up in someone’s place of residence, its best to ask if its okay. This may seem like a “well duh” rule to follow, but to anyone who has had randos at a house party, you know that people will start smoking and give zero fvcks when drinking. Make sure the host doesn’t hate you and learn the smoking sitch.

5. Ashtrays a la max

If you are a host to a party, or helping to organize one, you best be setting up ample amounts of ashtrays. Put ‘em on tables and firmly placed furniture to avoid spillage, or by windows to implicitly direct smokers to post up near an open source of ventilation. Expect quite the ash-y floor the next day if you don’t provide a smoking receptacle. This goes for resto/bar owners too, ‘cuz any terrasse should have an ashtray on every table. What else are people sitting out there for?

6. Ashing in bottles

Another rule that mostly applies to house parties: ashing in a beer bottle is totally cool, but dumping the end of the cigarette inside is not. To avoid fruit flies from flying around the house, a host will have to wash out leftover beer bottles, which turns into a disgusting job when they have to rinse out bottles full of cigarette butts. Ash + beer rinse out pretty easy, but butts get all up in the kitchen sink, which is not a good look for a spot where you clean your dishes.

7. Pocketing lighters

We’re probably all guilty of innocently stealing a lighter from a friend right after using it. It’s a reflex to put a lighter in your pocket right after you use it, but when it’s not your own, you’re gonna seriously inconvenience the person you borrowed it off of when they need to light up next. On the other hand, if you’re lending out a lighter, keep track of where it went, and watch the hands/pockets of whoever you’re lending it to.
8. Be aware of your own smoke

No matter where you are, outside or indoors, just be aware of where you’re smoke is going. You could be on the street waiting for the bus with a mild breeze blowing that pushes all your secondhand smoke into the face of the next person in the bus line. Happily smoking, you have no clue, while the person next to you is supremely pissed off. Just keep track of where your smoke blows so as not to make anyone angry.
9. Around kids

Don’t smoke around children. Just don’t do it. The young, pink, and untainted lungs of kids don’t need you blackening them with your secondhand smoke. You probably already know not to do this, but be extra aware when in areas populated by children, like in parks or festivals.

10. On the bus

Don’t be a drunk (or sober) asshole and light your smoke in the bus right before getting out. We get it, you want to smoke, but nobody needs to smoke that badly. Wait the 5 extra seconds ’til you get off the bus and make everyone’s life a little less smoggy.

11. Non-smokers

If you’re a non-smoker in a room full of smokers, suck it up or leave the room/area. Don’t complain about the smog. If someone offers you a smoke and you’re a non-smoker, do not get all high and mighty about how smokes are bad for you or your body is a temple or some bullshit. We all know smoking is bad for your health, its literally on all cigarette packs, and you’re going to seem like a punk if you get all preachy about it.

12. On E-cigs

Vaps and e-cigs are kind of a gray area in the world of smoking. They don’t have nicotine or all the tar, so they’re technically not really smokes, and are even allowed indoors in public establishments. Still, respect that some people will still not want a bunch of vap-smoke in their face or workplace, so still pay heed to all of the aforementioned rules.

Marlboro 72s Aromatic – a stronger smelling “aromatic” tobacco. the task was to come up with multiple ways to market this new product. My concept was to package it as a “72” – a shorter cigarette, due to the more intense flavor.

British American Tobacco (BAT) revealed greater earnings for 2013 as sales of its major brands persisted to increase and it succeeded to increase prices, even though negative exchange rate actions have affected the profit progression.

The world’s second giant cigarette manufacturer by profit after Philip Morris International (PMI) announced pretax revenue of GBP5.80 billion for the year, higher from GBP5.59 billion in previous year, as profits boosted to around GBP15.26 billion, from GBP15.19 billion, and it additionally raised margins by means of cost cutting.

Mentioning the effect of currency moves, the company stated its profits were practically plain at present rates, however would have been higher 4% if foreign currencies had continued to be stable around the year. Revenue from operations has boosted by 3% at recent rates. It was specially affected by sterling’s weakness against the Brazilian real, South African rand, Japanese yen and Australian dollar.

BAT’s story has been identical for many years: stable revenue growth as it concentrates on promoting growth of its key brands in Asia and some other growing markets and decreasing costs, compensating ongoing decreases in sales in the majority of emerging markets and in entire cigarette sales volumes.
2013 demonstrated similar results. It once again boosted the market share and volumes of most of its best selling cigarettes such as Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Hilton, Viceroy and Pall Mall. Dunhill volume increased by 9.7% and Pall Mall boosted by 4.4%, while both Kent and Lucky Strike demonstrated lower results 2.9% and 6.5% respectively.

The company representative declared that they will include the Rothmans brand to the key drive brands portfolio starting 2014. He also stated that the difficulties still remain this year, with the recovery still weak, mainly in its southern European markets. On the other hand, the pricing environment continues to be decent. “BAT persisted to operate ardently in 2013, with one more year of outstanding profits advancement and cash flow, to some extent compensated by currency headwinds. The group’s key cigarette brands also gained exceptional progress in market share and volume. Challenging trading difficulties remain a problem in several places of the world, particularly in southern Europe, however these final results illustrate that the group’s approach proceeds to provide strong revenue and dividend increase,” Chairman Richard Burrows stated in a report.

Taking into account the company’s solid overall performance in latest years, it also has an emphasis on its cash flow. Operating income increased 5% to GBP5.32 billion in 2013. Free earnings went up 3% to GBP3.37 billion.

In April, 2007, British American Tobacco Russia launched Kent Nanotek cigarettes. Kent Nanotek are 83mm instead of 85mm and the diameter is 5mm compared to the standard 7mm. In March 2010, Kent Nanotek Mad its debut in Japan look.

Kent Nanotek Neo cigarettes brand was introduced by Lorillard Tobacco Company in 1952 and carried the name of the inventor of this company, Herbert Kent. Nowadays the owner of this famous cig is the British American Tobacco. Due to their excellent characteristics, Kent Nanotek Neo cigarettes win the hearts of many smokers who take care of their health, prefer everything natural and they rank fourth in the list of the most popular cigarettes worldwide. Many of you are aware of the fact that, practically all cigarettes are produced not only of pure, original tobacco, but also with the addition of different agents in order to emphasize cigarette’s flavor and taste. Nevertheless there are smoking products, which are made exclusively from pure tobacco that only elevates their dignity and worth in comparison with other smoking items, which involves different additives.

Kent Nanotek Neo cigarettes are the representatives of the first mentioned group. Without additives, a smoker can enjoy the taste of pure and naturally grown tobacco, which is what the real smoker is looking for and Kent knows that. It is not enough that they consist of natural tobacco, they also possess special filter, which is considered to be “safer” for people who smoke. Reputed for their light flavor, pleasant aroma, Kent Nanotek Neo cigarettes distinguish by the low nicotine and tar content. Developing new ideas, the manufacturer created slim-sized Kent version that differs from the previous one only by original design, while taste qualities haven’t been changed.

Today Kent cigarettes is represented by: Kent HD Futura, Kent HD Neo, Kent HD Infina, Kent Nanotek Futura, Kent Nanotek Neo, Kent Nanotek Infina. You can choose any of them, as they all are different but their pure natural essence is preserved. Buy Kent brand in our online cigarettes store at discount price and you won’t be disappointed.

Excellence based in expertise, vision and passion is the core, the soul of the Davidoff brand. Finding and fusing quality, craftsmanship and luxury together from every corner of the world is our never-ending, dynamic quest.

At the heart of the Davidoff brand is the pleasure in life. We never cease to honor and celebrate every moment, elevating and enriching the life fully-lived with passion and intensity.

The Davidoff Style.

Davidoff’s prime focus has always been quality. Forever determined to offer the best, inspirations from all over the world are translated into products of perfection. Expertise and passion are an integral part of the development process which emphasizes the uniqueness.

Elegant understatement, iconic design and premium ingredients combined with perfect craftsmanship: these are the fundamental characteristics of all Davidoff products, which support the holistic and mobile lifestyle of today’s cultivated global citizens.

The black and white music video directed by David Fincher for Madonna’s song Vogue, inspired from the American classical Hollywood cinema of the 20’s and the 30’s, features, among numerous poses with a reference, certain smoking scenes; although there is no obvious suggestion that those were Vogue cigarettes, there certainly is some place for speculation on the matter. Why? Because Vogue cigarettes share the same stylistic inspiration and define their fashion orientation in the same cultural and lifestyle background as this hit of the ’90s. Thus, the assumption that Madonna’s smoking scenes make a hint to the brand of cigarettes Vogue would be only logical.

Vogue refers also to restoring an attitude and reinstating the beauty and elegance of a long-gone era. The interest in looks, shapes, textures and colors, flavors, scents and other sophisticates refinements, ensured the popularity of Vogue cigarettes worldwide. An astonishing number of people buy Vogue cigarettes online.